


To Hell And Back

by Vivian_Laufeyson



Category: Percy Jackson RPG, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: A lot of original characters, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood comes later, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Crying, Death, Demigods, Drama, F/M, Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Humor, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, Not Canon Compliant, Not Really Character Death, Original Character Death(s), Past Character Death, Quests, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-15 02:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4589544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vivian_Laufeyson/pseuds/Vivian_Laufeyson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new camper arrives at Camp-Halfblood with a necklace that has extraordinary powers, while Althea struggles with a dark past. Percy finds that he is no longer the sole camper in his cabin, and Nico deals with the trauma of losing Bianca. The four of them, along with several others begin to bond, and cope with the skeletons in each of their closets as a rising problem begins to emerge.</p><p> </p><p>I wrote this with the help of a friend of mine via emails. After a while of working on the RP, we both decided that it would be fun to post it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I will apologize right now. I am not a consistent writer. I will not post on a regular basis, and I am truly sorry. I hope it won't bother you all too much, and while I don't plan on going on long hiatuses, it may be 2 to 3 weeks before I post a new chapter, or I may come back with 3 or 4 new chapters. Only time will tell. 
> 
> I know how much everyone hates these things, but I felt like my readers ought to know before getting immersed in the story.  
> If you decided to click on this and try it out, I thank you so much, and I really hope you enjoy it.

Althea stood at the entrance to the camp, awaiting the new demigod that was due to be arriving. She wondered as to why anyone would want her, of all campers, to be the one to pick up the new demigod. She was dangerous, as all children of the Big Three were, and to have her at the edge of the boundary was asking for a fight.  
Whether she thought it wise or not, there she was waiting, until a boy found his way over to her.

He was about average height, she supposed, a boy with light brown hair, and well built, although slim, and appeared as if he could have the attitude of a small puppy.   
As she walked up to him, he began to analyze her as well, noting her mysteriously deadly appearance.  
Her hair was raven black, and mostly straight, waving like someone tossed a stone in the water. Her outfit matched her hair, as she wore mostly black as well. Between her leather jacket, jeans, and shoes, she seemed to be made of shadows.  
He hesitated, as her necklace, ring, earrings, all jewelry had skulls on them, and when he approached there was a deathly still in the air.  
When he stopped, she walked through a shining doorway towards him, no emotion readable on her face at all, putting him in a slight unease.  
She spoke and her voice was icy cold, indifferent, and calculating, as if every little thing he did told her something new.

“Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, demigod.”

He looked at her confused. “Where? Where am I?”

She looked unamused, and he felt a small relief, so she did have emotions, and wasn’t just frozen.  
“You are at Camp Half-Blood; a place for demigods, where we train, and learn to fight the danger out in the mortal world.”

“Fight? What kind of camp is this? And what’s a demigod? I’m certainly NOT a god of any kind!”

A slight knowing smile came across her face with his incredulousness, and it was apparent she was enjoying this, giving a slight annoyance to the boy.  
“Of course not.” She stated with a matter of fact tone. “That would be utterly ridiculous. You are the child of a god.”

He blinked a couple of times before it registered.  
“Wait a second. Child of a GOD?!”

“Yes. Everyone here is, and I’m assuming that you don’t know who yours is.”

“No. I don’t. Am I supposed to?”

“Not unless they’ve claimed you.”

“Claimed me?”

“You’ll know it when you see it. Just forget about it for now.”

Althea took a step back, and then looked at him.  
“You’re undetermined then. If you’ll walk with me.”

She began to walk off, the boy close behind her.  
“So, where are we going?”

“I’m taking you to cabin 11.”

“Cabin 11? How many are there?”

“There are 20, one for each major and minor god or goddess. 11 is Hermes. All of the Hermes demigods reside there, as well as all of the undetermined.”

“It must be really crowded.”

She sighed almost sadly, but not quite. “It is indeed. Many of the demigods wish for a 21st cabin for all undetermined, but there are less and less as we go along. Many are being sorted into their true cabins. We’re here.”

He stood back as she opened the door, all of the campers suddenly standing alert. She spoke loudly, not yelling, but loudly, to be heard past all of the murmurs.  
“Cabin 11! You have a new camper!”

There were several grumbles and complaints, with one camper yelling at her from the back of the room.  
“Is he a new Hermes kid, or is he undetermined?”

“He is undetermined.” The room groaned louder. “None of that! All of you! He’ll be claimed soon enough. You all know that!”  
They quieted down, although most of them still weren’t happy at having to give up more floor space. She continued to talk.  
“Treat him with respect, as you would your own siblings. Nobody knows how long he’ll be staying here.”  
She turned to the boy, and smiled.  
“Welcome to your new home. You know, I never caught your name? Would you mind enlightening me?”

“The name’s Kirito Vesperina. What cabin are you in?”

She shook his hand.  
“Nice to meet you, Kirito. I’m Althea Hawthorne, daughter of Hades, ambassador of the Underworld for Camp Half-Blood. My cabin number is 13.” Althea looked down sadly. “There’s only one other camper.” She looked back up with a slight smile. “My brother, Nico di Angelo, But you’ll meet him soon enough.”

“Sounds great. I can’t wait to meet him!”

“Set down your things. I’ll need to introduce you to camp.”

“Give me a sec.”

He set down his belongings by a sleeping bag that was he was directed to, and almost put down a necklace, but he picked it back up after seeing another camper eye it suspiciously.   
Kirito walked back to Althea with a large grin, excited to learn more about the strange camp.  
Althea leaned in and whispered to him. “Be careful what you leave behind, Kirito. Some Hermes campers aren’t to be trusted. The camp learned that the hard way.”

“Don’t worry. This is all I have that can’t be replaced. The rest is just clothes. So, where should we start?”

“Well, as for my brother, he’s not at camp right now. He’s back home. Let’s head over to the Big House. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting to meet you. It’s best not to keep Mr. D waiting for too long.”

Althea walked away briskly, and Kirito sighed. He supposed he’d have to get used to that.  
As they were walking, Kirito took the time to get out some of his questions.  
“So, who’s Chiron and Mr. D? Are they like the directors of Camp Half-Blood or something?”

While Kirito finished stating his question, they arrived. Before opening the door Althea answered them as best she could.  
“Chiron, yes. He is the director of the camp. Mr. D, not so much, but he is not someone to be trifled with.”

Althea looked at him seriously, and he reluctantly shrank a bit.  
“You need to be very respectful. He is a very important man, with a lot of power.” I looked at him warily. “Do you understand?”  
He nodded and with that, Althea opened the door, and a man in a wheelchair rolled up, turning to Kirito.  
“Kirito, this is Chiron.”

“Welcome, Kirito. I trust Althea is an informative host.” Chiron was interrupted by a voice in another room.  
“Chiron! If you’re done messing with the new arrival, can we get back to our game of pinochle?”

Kirito smiled giddily at Chiron.  
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Chiron. I can’t wait to start training here. I’m assuming that other voice was Mr. D?”

Chiron and Althea nodded, and Kirito burst through the door, running toward where the voice came from before they could stop him.  
He poked his head in the doorway, and Althea looked at Chiron concerned.  
“Good morning Mr. D! So glad to meet you sir. If you don’t mind, I’d like to join your game of pinochle.”

Mr. D greeted him with a series of expletives, some Greek and most not, all essentially saying ‘Go away’.   
Althea sighed and her face of concern changed to pity for the boy and flinched as she heard Mr. D.   
Kirito returned, looking at Althea and Chiron. He put on a smile and spoke cheerfully.  
“So, what shall we do first, Mr. Chiron?”

He didn’t answer, and there was a moment of silence. Althea shook her head, and her voice was laced with frustration and a slight disappointment that Kirito quickly picked up on. He hung his head as she spoke.  
“Kirito. What part of that was respectful?” 

She calmly walked to the room with Mr. D, and knocked on it gently. There was an angry voice telling her to come in, and she disappeared shutting the door behind her.  
Not much could be heard other than the occasional, ‘I’m sorry’, and ‘No, sir, it won’t happen again.’

She returned walking briskly away from the room. She spoke directly to Chiron.  
“Now that that’s taken care of…What should I show him first, sir?”

“Why don’t you take him to the Arena? I believe Perseus is training. I’m sure Kirito would like to meet a young man around his age.”

“Yes sir.”

Althea turned to Kirito, and nodded her head. “Well then, Kirito. Let’s go to the Arena.”  
They walked out together, for the first time, without Althea running ahead. Kirito looked down at the ground as they walked.

“I’m sorry about that. I was just trying to be nice. It won’t happen again.”

She gave a soft laugh, and kept walking, answering without looking at him.  
“I’m sure it won’t, especially after that encounter. But don’t take it too personally; he’s that way with most of the campers. He doesn’t particularly like us, and it’s better to avoid him. If you do need to talk, keep it to a minimum. Treat him like he could turn you into a hamster if you don’t respect him.”

Kirito laughed, and nodded his head.  
“Okay. So, what can you tell me about this Perseus…can I call him Percy?...guy. What’s he like?”

Althea pointed to Percy, who was talking to Annabeth outside of the Arena.  
“That’s Perseus Jackson; yes Kirito, commonly called Percy. The girl he was talking to, that’s Annabeth. She’s Percy’s girlfriend, even if they don’t call it that. She’s a daughter of Athena, and…” She caught Kirito watching her, and although she didn’t know why, thought it better to give him a fair warning. “…off limits. If you dare try after her, Percy might kill you. He’s quite capable of doing so.”

Kirito’s eyes widened and he shook his head vigorously. “I wasn’t even thinking about it. Is there anyone else I can get killed for looking at, or just her?”

Althea continued. “It’s just her. Percy is the son of Poseidon. He speaks sass as his first language, English as his second, and Greek as his third. He may not look like much, but he’s one of our best swordfighters. Go on, new blood. Talk to him. He’s friendly and won’t bite.”


	2. Chapter 2

Kirito walked past Althea towards Percy. Annabeth had walked away, so Percy was free.  
“Hi, Percy. I’m the new guy. Name’s Kirito.”

“Nice to meet you Kirito. Chosen or undetermined?”

“Undetermined and currently sharing a floor with Cabin 11.”

“Cool, man. I see you got Althea showing you around the camp. Have you gotten your sword yet?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“That’s okay. There’s plenty to choose from.”

Althea stayed behind Kirito as they were paraded down a small showcase of different swords. Althea zoned out into her own thoughts as Percy helped Kirito choose.  
He handed Kirito a small, double edged swords, and Kirito swung it around, before handing it back. It went on like that for several minutes before a sword of black metal caught Kirito and Percy’s eye.  
Percy picks it up, smiling and hands it to Kirito.  
“Why don’t you try this one?”

Kirito made a couple of swings, his smile growing wider. The sword was well balanced in his hand, almost like an extension of himself.  
“It’s perfect.”

Percy laughs. “Great! Now why don’t you name it? My sword’s name is Riptide.”

Kirito looked at Althea expectantly, although she didn’t notice until he spoke up.  
“I don’t know. Althea, what do you think I should name it?”

Althea suddenly payed her attentions and looked at Kirito, who was still holding the blade. Her eyes flashed open, and she ran over to Percy. Her voice sounded angry, and was full of concern and disbelief.  
“Perseus Jackson!” Percy flinched. “What are doing, giving him Stygian Iron?! Do you remember what that does?!”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Not exactly…but it’s just a sword.”

“Percy! Stygian Iron swords separate the soul from whatever body they kill! It’s a rare metal from the underworld!” She turned to Kirito quickly. “Put that down, before you kill someone, or yourself!”

Kirito quickly obeyed, putting the sword back on its holder carefully. Althea took a deep breath and went back to Percy calmly.  
“Gods, Percy… I know Annabeth shouldn’t have to babysit you every second. Please think about some things before you do them.” She put her hand on his shoulder. “Let’s find one a little less dangerous to himself, ok.”

He avoided her eyes and nodded. Althea smiled.  
“Alright then. I’m sorry about that. Let’s get you another sword. Oh, and by the way, SoulEater seems an appropriate name.”

They found another one, Althea being more attentive, the same size as the last one, but rather than the Stygian Iron, a typical Celestial Bronze, complete with a golden handle.  
“How about this? Or will this kill me too?”

“That’ll be fine. If you want to be technical, all swords have the potential to kill you. Some are just a greater risk than others. What do you think, Percy?”

“Looks like a good match to me. Sooo…whatcha gonna call it?”

Althea laughed and shook her head. “Percy, you know, you don’t have to name all the swords.”

He pretended to pout. “But it’s so much fun!”

“Alright, fair enough. What are you going to call your blade, Kirito?”

He shrugged his shoulders indifferently. “I guess I’ll go with SoulEater. So, do you want to stay and chat with Percy, or is there anything else you need to show me?” He placed the sword into the sheath and attached it to his belt.

“No, there’s more.” Althea waved goodbye to Percy, who pulled her into an awkward hug before she could leave. “We’ll see you later, Percy.”

Percy smiled and let her go, and Kirito waved as they left. Percy quickly called them back for a second.  
“When you’re done being shown around, we should train together!”

“Sounds good!”

They walked off.  
“Okay, so you’ve seen the Arena, and the Big House, as well as the cabins as we walked past them. We’ll go see the stables, then after that we’ll all head to lunch. You must be starving.” She broke into a sprint towards the stables. “Come along! We don’t have a lot of time!”

Kirito caught up with Althea, out of breath. He looked up and froze.  
“Is…Is that one of those flying horses? What are they called…Pegasi?”

Althea laughed. “Yes, those are Pegasi. You’ll learn to ride one of them. Most of us do, except for those that other means of travelling, like my brother and I. There aren’t as many Pegasi as we’d like, but there are a good few.”

Althea called over a girl who was playing with one of the Pegasi.  
“Silena!” She walked over to the two of them. “How are you doing?”

“I’m great. Who’s this?”

“This is Kirito. He’s a new undetermined demigod. I’m showing him about the camp.”

“Cool. Well, welcome to camp.”

“Nice to meet you, Silena.”

“So who do you hope to be a child of, Kirito?”

Kirito stopped and thought for a second.  
“Well, I haven’t given much thought. I guess Ares or Athena would be cool parents to have. Honestly, I just want a cabin where I don’t have to worry about my things getting stolen. Is that your Pegasus?”

“Oh, her? No, she’s not. I just enjoy playing with them.”

They walked down the stable hall down the line of horses, until Kirito stops at a pure black one.  
“That’s Percy’s. His name is Blackjack.”

They continued walking, Silena stopping every now and then to point out an interesting detail or a funny story about some of the Pegasi. Kirito ran ahead, finding a white Pegasus with peppered black spots.  
Silena smiled. “That’s Mellowbrook. He doesn’t have an owner.”

Kirito looked at Althea expectantly, who put on a face of fake irritation.  
“I’m not your mother. Go ahead, see if he likes you. Just remember, Blackjack is only Percy’s because the Pegasus says so. You’ll have to ask Chiron if you can keep him.”

Althea nodded her head towards the horse, and Kirito smirks, letting him out, and playing with the Pegasus. She looked at Silena and rolled her eyes.  
“You just had to encourage it, didn’t you?”

“Oh, lighten up Althea. Let him have a little fun.”

“I don’t want you messing of him Silena.”

“I’ve got Charlie. I’m not messing with anybody.”

“Alright. 5 minutes. Then we go to the Mess Hall.” She yelled over to Kirito. “Did you hear that? You’ve got 5 minutes, you can come back to play anytime.”

Kirito climbed on the horse to ride it, forgetting it was indeed a Pegasus, and it opened its wings, flying off.  
He felt the wind in his hair and felt the rush of adrenaline as he soared higher into the sky.  
Althea looked around for Kirito, beginning to freak out over the fact that she lost him. Meanwhile, Silena just stood around, smiling.  
“Silena! Where did he go?”

“Ummm, Althea…”

“Oh gods, Chiron’s going to personally kill me.”

“Althea.”

“Have you seen him anywhere?”

“Althea! Look up.”

She looked up and her heart skipped a beat. “What in Hades is he doing up there?!”

Silena smirked. “I do believe he’s flying. I’ve never seen someone that good on their try. Do you think?”

“No, not another one. He doesn’t look anything like her anyway. He can’t be another one of us…”

“He’s landing.”

“Oh thank the gods!” She ran over to Kirito, her panic giving way to worry. He slid off of Mellowbrook, and was unsuspecting of her frustration. He saw her, and stopped in his tracks, a wave of unease washing over him.  
“What in the underworld do you think you were doing up there?! No lessons, no training, and experience! Do you even realize how dangerous that was? You could have been killed and nobody short of the GODS could have done a thing!” She took a deep breath and calmed down.

“I’m sorry. I was just going to ride him around the pasture. I didn’t know he was going to start flying. I tried to stop, but when I got it under control, I just figured I’d try flying.”

She sighed, and shook her head. “Let’s just go to the dining hall. It’s lunch time.”


	3. Chapter 3

On the way to the dining hall, Althea briefed Kirito on typical camp customs concerning mealtime.  
“There are special rules when it comes to lunch. You are going to sit at the table with your cabin. Wood nymphs will show up with your food. When you receive your food, you will go up to the fire at the front and scrape in a small part of your meal. A little bit from every thing on there, whatever you think is the best from each section. There are going to be goblets there. They will fill up with whatever drink you desire. After lunch, you will meet back up with me at your cabin again. I should be waiting there. If all goes as planned, I will introduce to somebody else. Enjoy your first meal at camp.”

Kirito and Althea separated to their own tables, Kirito at table 11, and Althea at table 13.  
Table 11 was overcrowded with campers, some standing to eat, and others hanging off of the edge of the bench. Kirito was one of the lucky ones that actually had a seat. A boy next to Kirito greeted him.  
“Hey. My name is Jacob. You’re that new kid that Althea was showing around, right?”

“Yeah. I’m Kirito.”

“Nice to meet you, Kirito.”

Kirito laughed and started joking with Jacob. “So, Jacob, I saw you eyeing my necklace earlier. You weren’t planning on stealing were you?”

Jacob gave a small chuckle. “No, not all Hermes kids are thieves. I was just thinking. It looks like one I used to own. One I gave to someone. But it can’t be the same one.”  
Jacob helped Kirito through the ritual, explaining how it all worked again, and making sure everything was done correctly.

Meanwhile, Althea sat at her own table, going through the daily motions. It didn’t really mean much. True, she and Hades had a stronger connection than most demigods and their parents, but she never really thought much of giving him her food. She knew he didn’t touch it anyway. As she scraped the food in, she breathed deeply. The scent was sweet, and smelled like Persephone’s garden. It almost made her homesick.  
She occasionally stole glances at one of the campers at the Hephaestus table, looking away when he’d look in her direction.  
The table was lonely, and she ate as quickly as she could to leave. She watched as Kirito talked to Jacob, and smiled, overhearing small bits of their conversation. Things about his necklace, and Jacob giving something to someone, but if he named someone, she missed it.  
She finished her lunch long before anyone else, as she had no one to distract her with conversation.

Stepping into a shadow, she disappeared, reappearing inside of the Hades cabin. A smile came to her face at the familiarity. The cold black tile floor and dim green fire lighting reminded her of years spent with her father in his palace.  
She pulled a golden drachma out of her pocket and through it in the air with the typical phrase.  
“Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering.”

A mist appeared with a faint image inside. All is mostly dark, with a ominous glow, illuminating the slim figure of a young boy around the age of 12 or 13.   
“Nico!”

He jumped, and turned around towards the voice. He sighed in relief, his voice sounded dead.  
“Althea. It’s you. I haven’t seen in a while. Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine, Nico. Are you okay? You look like death.”

“I always look like death. I am death.”

“Right.” She rolled her eyes. “How long until you visit?”

“I don’t know. Do I need to travel over there?”

“It’ll drain you.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll be fine.” His voice sounded impatient and exasperated. “Do you need me?”

“There’s a new demigod here dying to meet the son of Hades.”

He looked unimpressed and tired and crossed his arms. “No one wants to meet the son of Hades. Stop playing with me.”

“Oh, get off your self-imposed guilt trip. I’m fine, and yes, he does. Now come on. The message won’t hold for much longer.”

“Alright. How long until I need to be there?”

Althea smiled wide. “As always, the sooner the better.”

“Be there in 10 seconds. See you soon, Thea.”

Althea walked to the Hermes cabin, and sat on the steps waiting for Kirito, but as most the Hermes campers came, she realized that Kirito wasn’t with them. Which meant that he was still at the dining hall.  
In fact, Kirito was still at the dining hall, waiting for Althea with Percy, discussing sword fighting techniques.  
“So, Kirito, I was wondering if you wanted to do some sword training today.”

“I would like to Percy, but I have to wait for Althea. She said she wanted me to meet someone, but now I can’t find her. I didn’t see her leave the dining hall, so I guess she’s still in there.”  
Percy nodded his head, knowing immediately. “She must have shadow traveled. She does that sometimes. Makes her tired, but it’s convenient for quick trips or long distances. She’ll be back, but I guess we should wait by the hall so she’ll be able to find you.

Not long after they sat down, Althea appeared behind Percy during the conversation. She put her finger to her lips, silently begging Kirito to stay quiet and act natural. She reached forward, and grabbed Percy’s ribs, tickling him, causing him to scream and laugh.  
When she stopped, Percy regained his breath.  
“What in Hades was that?!”

Althea began to laugh, Kirito joining her, nearly as surprised as Percy was about the whole scene. Althea loomed over Percy’s head.  
“That would be me, Percy. I’m glad I found you two. I said wait by your cabin, so I sat there for what seemed like forever. It wasn’t hard to find you, though. Thanks Percy. I figured he’d be talking to you. Would you like to walk with us?”

Percy and Kirito stood.  
“Sure, why not. Where are you going?”

“I was going to have him meet someone, and then we were going to go to the infirmary. We’re almost done with the tour, so…”

“Sounds fun! Let’s go! Who are we going to meet?”

Althea leaned sideways and whispered in Percy’s ear.  
“I’m taking him to meet Nico.”

“Awesome. He’s a good kid.”

As they walked briskly down the path, Kirito apologized.  
“Sorry I didn’t wait with my cabin. I thought that since we were in the same building, we could leave together. I didn’t know you could shadow travel.”

“It’s okay Kirito. But you'll need to learn to listen to the campers or leaders put in charge of you, and pay more attention. If you don’t, bad things could happen to you. This isn’t like the world you’re used to.”  
Percy shifted uncomfortably, knowing exactly what she meant. He and death had too many close calls for comfort.

As they passed near the forest, they heard low growls among the trees.  
Kirito looked at his glanced at his sword, which suddenly felt a little smaller.  
Althea’s head jerked to the side, fear and concern evident in her eyes.  
“Althea, did you hear that?”

“Percy, I thought we got rid of those…we couldn’t have missed one, could we?”

“I don’t think so.”

“So, um, who am I going to meet, and more importantly, where?”

“Percy, we can deal with it later. Kirito, we’re going to my cabin to meet someone, as for who, I think you have a pretty good idea now. The forest can wait. Don’t worry about it.”  
Despite her words, she nervously looked back at the forest.


	4. Chapter 4

“Let’s see…we’re going to the Hades cabin…the only other Hades kid I know is Nico! Great! I can’t wait to meet him!”  
As they approached cabin 13, Kirito noticed a figure seem to appear out of the shadows near the house. It was a small boy, with solid black hair and an aviator’s jacket that made his skin seem even paler than it already was. His eyes were swollen and dark, like he hadn’t slept in days.  
Althea ran over to him and hugged him.

“Kirito, this is my half brother, Nico. Nico, well, obviously this is Kirito, and you already know Percy.”

Kirito held his hand for a handshake, but Nico just stared at him blankly.  
“Hi.”

“Nico, be nice. This is the demigod that I told you about.”

His eyes flashed open, and he nodded slightly. He shook Kirito’s hand.  
“Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. Has Thea been a show-off yet? Or is she unusually modest today?”

Althea blushed and stammered. “I- I am not a show off!”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Of course not, you have as much modesty as Hermione Granger.”

“Hey!”

Kirito and Percy laughed, and Althea huffed, blowing a stray hair out of her face.  
She looked at Nico, who was almost falling asleep standing there. Her heart fell, and stared at him worried.  
“How long has it been since you’ve slept?”

“About 4 or 5 days I guess. I’ve lost track of time.”

Althea groaned. “And how many times have you traveled within that period?”

Nico, realizing the precarious situation he was in, avoided her gaze and looked down at the ground. “Ah…at least once a day.”

She sighed in frustration.  
“Unfortunately, we’ll have to cut the first meeting short.” She hugged Nico and walked him to the cabin, stopping outside of the door. “I’ll be right back, guys. Need to get Nico to bed.” They stepped through the door, semi-slamming it when it closed.  
She continued to talk to Nico, the two outside only catching small parts of it.

“Nico. What did I say about sleep?!”

“I should actually sleep, not just lay there.”

“And…”

“Sleep every night, if possible, especially when I shadow travel.”

“Exactly! I hardly think you had the inability to sleep for 4 days in a row! Gods, Nico! You’re going to hurt yourself, or worse! If you’re always like this you’re going to get yourself killed. I’m already supposed to be dead. You don’t need to be dead too. If you don’t start taking care of yourself, I’ll have to find a way to make you stay here with me.”

Nico stared at her incredulously, borderlining fury. “You can’t do that!”

“Yes, I can, and I will.” Her voice softened, and she kissed his forehead. “Now go to bed, little one. I need to finish showing Kirito around. If you’re not asleep by the time I’m back, I’m going to ask Father to make you stay here.”

Nico sighed, and nodded, knowing arguing was pointless. She walked back outside, gently closing the door, rather than slamming it.  
“Sorry about that. Now, let’s head to the infirmary.”

Kirito and Percy shared a nervous look, and Kirito walked beside Althea as they went, Percy staying a few steps behind, but not far.  
“What was that about?”

Althea gave a confused look. “What do you mean?”

“What you said back there. About how…you’re supposed to be dead.” Althea stopped in her tracks.

"I, um....later. I'll tell you later. After the infirmary. It's the last place I truly need to take you." The air was filled with a somber silence, darker than before.  
When they reached the infirmary, Althea showed him around quickly, explaining things in a hurry, but was stopped multiple times by children of Apollo asking if she was alright. She nodded her head to move them along.

Kirito listened with silent agreement as she told him everything she knew, Will Solace temporarily tagging along to fill in her blanks. Percy followed closely behind, looking around nervously, obviously uncomfortable. As soon as they were finsihed and out, Percy spoke up.  
"Althea, why don't you and Kirito come to Cabin 3 while you explain?"

She gave him a small, meaningless smile. "Thank you, Percy."

They all walked over to Cabin 3 and Percy opened the door, stepping inside, and beckoned them in. He motioned to a group of chairs available, which they gratefully accepted, their legs tired from the nonstop walking.  
Percy and Kirito sat next to each other, opposite of Althea, and her chest felt heavy, the feeling of being outnumbered beginning to overwhelm her. It was a battle to remind herself that she was with friends, and not enemies. It calmed her down, but it never completely left.  
She took a deep breath and began to speak.

'Alright...Yes, Kirito. I am supposed to be dead." She laughed humourlessly; it was empty, and hollow, and seemed to echo in the quiet stillness of the room. "I should've died. I- I did die."

Kirito looked at her confused, and Althea flinched, expecting the ouburst that typically followed when an individual learned her secret, but it never came. It was just questions.

"What...What happened? How did you die?" He paused for a second before adding another. "How did you come back?"

She winced. It was an unpleasant memory to say the least, and Percy looked away uncertainly, not knowing what to think.   
Althea took another breath, trying to think. There were so many details that went into it all, so much. How was she supposed to explain?

"I.... I was on a quest. They needed a child from the Big 3 to lead. I never knew why, since they never told me, and I never knew why they would choose a child of Hades, even if... but we didn't know about Percy then. He would've been so little." She looked at Percy fondly, and Percy responded with an embarrased smile.   
"Thalia too... goodness, Percy... I died that long ago. You would only have been around 1, if even. As for Nico, he wasn't really around." There was a flash of concern in Kirito's face which Althea picked up on immediately. "No, he's not dead too. He was alive, just suspended in time, I suppose is the best way to describe it. I was the only choice, the only Big 3 demigod, really. It was just three of us, three heroes, like normal. There was me, the daughter of Hades, a son of Hephaestus named Matthieu, and a daughter of Ares." 

Her voice cracked, her breath hitching, and a tear ran down her face.  
"A daughter of Hephaestus, my best friend. Her name was Karalynn, and I killed her. I killed them all, us all. I did something foolish, I let my guard down, and we were ambushed, and were attacked before we could do a thing. It was brutal; we fought for our lives, even though we were gravely outnumbered. We knew it too, but... miracles have happened before, and we had hoped... I could have-I could have escaped. We all could have escaped, but... I didn't know how then. I didn't know how to take more than one person through a shadow, so it limited me to just me, and I wasn't going to leave. So we all died. Karalynn went first, Matthieu next, protecting me while I was in shock.... I-I-" She was nearly hyperventilating, and her tears began to flow harder. 

Kirito watched her, wanting to provide some form of comfort, but he didn't know if she would let him, so he stayed in his chair watching. Even Percy didn't do anything, which further reinforced his idea.

Althea continued, barely getting out the story, but managing. "I watched her bleed to death, splayed out on the ground. The last thing she told me was that she was sorry, and that it wasn't my fault. I would've been dead then, if not for Matthieu. He killed the thing behind me, but could only fight for a minute before... well, the giant said his head would make a wonderful trophy."

Kirito gave her look of sympathy, although seeming to ask, "What about you?"

"Me... I was run through, sitting there on the ground, screaming over their bodies. I had given up, I was done fighting. Since I was, still am, the daughter of Hades, my father treated me better then most dead. I deserved to die, to stay dead, and to rot in the fields of Punishment...he put my friends in Elysium, and wanted me to stay in the palace with him. I declined, claiming that they were dead because of me. He said that he'd never put me through torture, but if I wanted Asphodel, he'd allow it. I agreed and he let me have my wish, telling me he'd be back every year, just in case I changed my mind. He never came, and I never changed. I never will change. I should have rotted in the Fields of Asphodel. I should have stayed there in eternal punishment. I didn't deserve to be brought back... I shouldn't be here..."

She started sobbing uncontrollably, her head in her hands. She began to rock back and forth, attempting to calm herself down and resume any resemblance of a put together respectable person.

Kirito stared for what seemed like hours before getting out of his seat and wrapping his arms around her. He couldn't stand watching her, and tried to aid her in calming down.

She immediately tensed as soon as she felt his arms around her, slowly relaxing, accepting the comfort. As she slowly regained her composure, she stood up, the arms releasing her. 

Before anything else could be exchanged they were interuppted.


	5. Chapter 5

A blonde girl stepped into the room, and suddenly all eyes were on her. She didn't seem to notice, and spoke to Percy.  
“Hey, Percy, I...” She trailed off and looked around. “Oh. You've got company.” She scanned the crowd, noticing Althea, with her tear-stained face. “Have I interrupted something? Do I need to go?”

Althea wiped away the last of her tears, and shook her head.  
“Not at all, Annabeth. Please, come in.”

Annabeth walked over to where they were sitting, and seated herself next to Percy, Kirito staring at her with a great deal of curiosity. It didn't take long for her to notice.

“You ought to take a picture. It'll last longer.”

Kirito shook his head.   
“I'm sorry. It's just...I can't help but feel like I've met you before.”

Annabeth took a moment to look him up and down before nodding.  
“Now that you mention, you do look familiar. I can't quite remember why, though.”

Percy and Althea watched the exchange, waiting for one of them to remember, and they shared a glance of confusion and interest.  
Annabeth looked over him with a more careful gaze, her eyes falling upon his arrowhead necklace before going wide in shock.  
“Are you...is your name...Kirito?” He nodded in answer to her question. “Oh gods...”

Althea looked at Annabeth, very confused.   
“You two obviously know each other from something...care to explain to us poor unfortunate souls?”

“Yes, of course. Two years ago, Grover and I were taking a new half blood to the camp. Her name was Morgan, she's in the Aphrodite cabin now. Anyway, somehow, Morgan had found this extremely rare artifact, an arrowhead made for Artemis herself. There are only a hundred, and only two of the Hunters of Artemis have access to them. It's a special arrow that puts a barrier to block and hide the scent of half-bloods from monster, kind of like the barrier around the camp. But in addition to that, it has the ability to kill any monster immediately, and completely destroy it. We had found Morgan and were escorting her, when night fell, and it began to storm. We were walking through a neighbourhood, when we came past Kirito's house. He saw us and invited us in for the night. While we were there, Grover smelled the demigod-blood that surrounded Kirito. There was no way that he could've been prepared, and we were already escorting Morgan, so we left him, resolving to come back later. Since Morgan wasn't anything that would attract anything too dangerous, we decided to leave the arrowhead with Kirito, to protect him. We all agreed on it, and Grover took some string he was planning to eat later and fastened it into a necklace, so he'd be able to have it at all times.”

The room went silent, and they all looked at Annabeth for a moment, before all staring at Kirito.  
“Without that necklace, you'd probably be dead.”

“I...I don't know what to say...”

Percy looked confused, and put his hand on Kirito's shoulder. “Did that really happen?” Kirito nodded.

Althea leaned in. “Kirito, do you know what this means? A scent like that? Attracting large amounts of monsters? You could be, it's a long shot, but...you could be a child of the Big Three.”

“And even with that arrowhead necklace, a monster night find you eventually. We should probably start training you, now.”

“Sure thing, but first...I would like to see Morgan.”

Kirito suddenly burst out of the door of Cabin 3, the other demigods following after him, running straight to the Aphrodite cabin.  
When Kirito arrived at the door, and knocked, he was answered by Silena, Annabeth, Percy, and Althea catching up behind him. He asked for Morgan, and the door slammed shut, before opening again to another girl.   
“Can I help you?”

“Yes, I'm Kirito. We met two years ago when you and Annabeth stayed at my house overnight.”

She looked at him confused, and it took all of their strength for Percy and Althea to not laugh. He pointed to the arrowhead as an explanation.  
“You gave me this.”

“Kirito...Kirito! It's good to see you again! What brings you here to see me?”

“Well, this arrowhead that you gave me, I kind of learned that it's... protected me for the past two years. It's a barrier, that keeps monsters away. Thank you, it's been a great help.”

“Well then, you're welcome. I've got to go, but we should talk when we get the chance.”

She closed the door, and Kirito turned around to have Percy oddly close to the back of him  
“You ready to start training.”

Kirito nodded. “Yeah, sure. Just give me a second.” 

He removed his necklace, and without a word, placed it around Althea's neck, walking off with Percy towards the Arena.  
Althea stood there shocked, and immediately grasped it, looking down at the the arrowhead. It was oddly beautiful, and carried an almost electric sense of power to it. Shaking her head, knocking herself out of her daze, she looked over at Annabeth.  
“I need to pay a visit to someone. Find out more about this charm.”

“Do you need me to come with you? I could help.” 

“Don't worry about me, Annabeth. Go take care of Percy. Make sure he actually teaches Kirito, and does it right. No sense in him dying this early.”

Annabeth hummed in agreement, and gave a brisk nod. “I'll see you in a bit then.”

Walking across the grounds to the other row of cabins, Althea arrived at Cabin 9, which belonged to the children of Hephaestus. Attempting a proffesional stance, she knocked on the door, heart racing as she did so.  
A Latino boy answered the door, covered in grease and oil, his curly brown hair having rust strewn throughout it, as well as shards of metal. Althea's heart lept into her chest and she smiled.   
“Good afternoon, Leo. Could I possibly get your help with something?”

“Of course. Whatever you need.” Althea blushed, and quietly followed him into the cabin, going into one of the many workshops underneath the cabin.  
She handed him the arrowhead, and he stared at it in wonder.

“Is it really? It can't be...I thought they'd all been found.”

She looked at him confused. “What do you mean, Leo?”

“I mean that those arrowheads were specially designed for Artemis and I thought that her huntresses had found all 100.”

“Is it a problem?”

He laughed. “Nope! Not at all! You're monster proof. How did you get it though?”

“Another demigod just gave it to me.”

“Who?”

“A new camper, undetermined.”

“What's his name?”

“Kirito...why? Is it important?”

“I don't know. Just more information to work with, I guess. How did he get it?”

“Annabeth, Grover, and an Aphrodite camper named Morgan Wallace.”

“Okay...there's a connection here. Do you know the full story?”

“Not exactly. But why are you investigating? I though you didn't do “organic life forms”?”

“Huh. I'm bored. It's better than nothing.”

“Where are Percy and Konoto?”

“Kirito, and they should be practicing at the Arena.”

“Awesome! I could do with a little practice!”

He walked out with Althea, making constant bad jokes, Althea retaliating with bad jokes of her own, causing the both of them to laugh, and any memory of her nervousness was forgotten as they walked to the Arena.


	6. Chapter 6

Percy and Kirito hardly spoke on the way to the Arena. Finally, Percy broke the silence.   
“So, why did you give that necklace to Althea?”

“She's one of the Big Three. She's more likely to get attacked than I am, since I'm probably not a kid of the Big Three. She needs it more. It'll protect her. Keep her from dying.”

“So will her father. Didn't you hear her say...”

Kirito cut him short and glared at Percy, warning him to never mention that again. He could hardly believe she'd seen her friends die, and then died herself...  
As they got closer to the Arena, they saw as another camper sparred with someone.  
“Jacob! Didn't expect to see you here!”

Jacob quickly disarmed his opponent, then placed the tip of his blade on their chest, signalling that he had won. Jacob turned to Percy and Kirito.  
“Hey, guys. How you doing?” his eyes looked suspicious. “You're not wearing the arrowhead. Hope you didn't leave in the cabin, man. It might not be there when you get back.”

“No, I loaned it to a friend. But I would like to ask you something about it.”

“Sure, go right ahead.” 

“Well, it used to belong to someone, before they gave it to me. Does the name Morgan Wallace mean anything to you?”

Jacob looked down almost sadly.   
“Yeah, yeah it does. When I found out I was a half-blood, it was the day soem campers actually came for my sister, Lucy. I was too young, so they let me stay for a few years. Lucy joined the Hutners of Artemis, and came across one of thesse magical arrowheads that she brought to me. She said it would put up a barrier and protect me from onsters until I was taken to Camp Half-Blood. Well, by this time, I had asked out and was currently dating Morgan. When they came to take me to the camp, I have Morgan the arrowhead to keep her protected while I was away. That was the last I'd seen of the arrowhead.”

Percy and Kirito shred a shocked glance, and Kirito smiled, looking back at Jacob. “What if I told you that I had that same arrowhead?”

Jacob looked at him surprised, and smiled. “Really? You do? Where is it? That's a really important quest item! It could help protect campers on quests!”

Kirito looked at him blankly. “I gave it to Althea.”

Puzzled, Jacob asked him why. Kirito explained that Althea needed the extra protection due to the fact that she was one of the Big Three's children. It didn't really make sense, and Jacob attempted to argue his point.  
“But, she's had more training than you, and she's-” Kirito looked at him in a silent bid for him to stop and Jacob trailed off. Deciding that an intervention was due, Percy stepped into the conversation.

“So, Kirito. Ready to start swordfighting?”

Kirito shrugged his shoulders, and agreed, walking to the middle of the Arena with Percy, noticing that Percy had failed to bring a sword with him to the swordfight. He thought that of all things, that was surely one of the most important.  
He pulled Souleater out of it's sheath, admiring his new sword for a brief moment, as he watched Percy pull out a pen. This didn't seem to bother Percy or Jacob, and Kirito watched with momentary confusion as Percy uncapped the pen, and with a brilliant flash, the ballpoint pen changed shape, becoming suddenly longer and larger, transforming into a double-edged sword. Kirito blinked the light out of his eyes.

“I'm assuming that's Riptide.” 

Percy smiled at him mischieviously, and raised his sword, beginning the battle. It only took seconds for Kirito to be disarmed, and he picked back up his sword. Percy and Kirito continued their practice, Percy pointing out Kirito's mistakes and he adjusting his technique every time until seconds before defeat became moments, and they were both thoroughly worn out.

Percy recapped his sword, placing it in his pocket, and looked at Kirito. “Would you like to take a water break?”

Jacob felt a twinge of fear for Kirito. He was barely standing, and the entire camp but the kid knew what water did for Percy. There was no way that he'd be able to get far in a fight with Percy on a full charge. Percy, not being completely oblivious, noticed the unfair advantage as well, only getting a half cup of water, just enough to restore his strength ever so slightly. He didn't want to beat Kirito too badly.

Kirito walked over to the water, grabbing a full glass. He was worn out, and didn't know if he'd be able to keep going. He gulped the water down in seconds, preparing to get a second cup when he paused, noticing that he felt entirely refreshed and he set down the cup, walking back out to Percy, feeling odd to say the least. He looked down at his arm, where he'd been slashed.

'Didn't I have a cut there?...” He shook off the thought, and looked back to Percy who had his sword raised, ready for another battle.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

Percy took a mad dash towards Kirito, his sword ready to strike. The next few seconds, Kirito lost control. He didn't know what he was doing. He feigned to the left, raising his sword to collide with Percy's. Souleater ran down the length of Riptide, until it reached the handle, and with a large push, Kirito disarmed Percy, and Riptide slid across the Arena floor. Kirito placed the edge of his blade on Percy's chest, signalling that he had won.  
Kirito heard Jacob applauding in the background, though it quickly stopped as the Arena suddenly became silent. He was curious as to why he had so suddenly stopped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

During the time in which Kirito and Percy had been training, Morgan had run into Annabeth. Talking and catching up with each other, they decided to go see how the two of them were doing to see if they could laugh at them, and they walked to the Arena.  
Kirito had not seen them arrive, having been far too focused on fighting with Percy, and they watched as he failed time and time over. If he wasn't getting floored by Percy, maybe they would've been laughing a little harder. When he stumbled away to take a water break, they felt a bit of guilt from finding amusement from this, and braced themselves, knowing what Percy had done.

 

But when Kirito prevailed, and disarmed Percy, the girls were impressed. About to applaud him they stop mid track. Everyone stood in stunned silence.  
The next sound that was heard came from Althea, who let out a gasp of shock, and Kirito turned to see her looking just above his head.

Confused, he looked up, catching only a glimpse of some symbol. He couldn't place what it was, but it looked like some fork, but with three prongs rather than the normal four. 

Everyone stared at Kirito, then at Percy. Percy knew what that symbol meant. He'd gotten the same one.


	7. Chapter 7

There was an, “Oh, gods...” heard from Percy, the initial shock wearing off quickly and he hugged Kirito tight, ecstatic at finally having a brother.  
“Welcome to Cabin 3!”

Althea walked to Kirito, smiling bittersweetly. 

“You'd better get your things from cabin 11. I suppose you don't need me anymore. Percy can take over teaching you from here...”

She turned and walked to Leo, who was still comedically shocked, and she ruffled his hair.  
“Come on, repair boy. We were here to investigate, remember?”

Leo shook himself out of his daze. “Right. Kirito!”

He looked at Leo curiously. “Yeah?”

“What can you tell me about the arrowhead you gave Althea?”

“Can I tell you while I walk back to cabin 11? I need to go get my stuff.”

Leo nodded. “Alright. Yeah, we can do that.”  
Kirito and Leo walked off, and Althea remained in the Arena to talk with Percy.

Walking out of the Arena, Kirito was bubbling over with excitement. He had been claimed, and by one of the Big Three, no less.  
Jason quickly joined them, and Kirito looked over at Leo.  
“So, Leo. What do you want to know about the arrowhead? Wait do you have it?”

“Yeah, Althea gave it to me to study.”

“May I see it?”

Leo handed Kirito the necklace, and Kirito placed it back around his neck familiarly, and Leo looked at him with curiosity.   
“Now, how did you get the arrowhead? They're only supposed to belong to the Hunters of Artemis.”

Kirito shrugged. “Well, I got it from Morgan Wallace, a girl from the Aphrodite Cabin, when she visited me. She got it from Jacob...”

Jacob finally spoke up, adding to the story from his end. “Yeah, and I got it from Lucy. You know Lucy, right?”

Kirito looked at Jacob awkwardly and Leo rolled his eyes. “Of course I know Lucy. She's one of the highest ranked of the Hunters. That explains how she got it.” He looked away, as if something about this was bothering him.

They began to near cabin 11, and Kirito noticed the sun hanging low in the sky, wanting to get his things to cabin 3 before nightfall.  
Jacob opened the door, and they all entered.  
“It was cool having you here while we could. Have fun bunking with Percy.”

Kirito nodded, saying that he would, and he looked around while grabbing his things, noticing the salt shaker that he saw one of the younger campers steal sitting on the floor. A question formed in his mind that he couldn't believe he hadn't asked already, and he turned to Jacob.  
“Jacob, are you undetermined?”

He shook his head. “No, I'm determined. Son of Hermes. I'm one of the few campers that knows it for sure.”

Kirito smiled. “Hmmm, cool.”

He picked the rest of his belongings, and walked towards the door, ready to go ahead to cabin 3. The other two quickly joined him and they walked out.  
Leo paused, the other two stopping as well. “I need to get back to my cabin. There's a project I've been working on that I want to finish before dinner. It's almost done.” 

Without waiting for a response, Leo ran off, leaving Kirito and Jacob to continue to cabin 3 on their own. They entered it upon arriving, and they noticed how little there seemed to be in the cabin.  
There were only two bunkbeds in the whole cabin, and four dressers on the opposite wall. The first held weird objects; some sneakers that had wings on the heels, a plastic bag that seemed to be hissing, a bag of drachmas, a bull's horn, and a bag filled with nothing but blue candies. On the wall above it hung a blue sports flag with the Poseidon cabin symbol on it, a trident.

The dresser next to it on the left seemed occupied as well. A bronze shield leaned against it. There was a half-eaten peanut butter sandwich on the shelf, and the name “Tyson” was written on the front in crayon, the “s” being backwards. Kirito stared at it in confusion, believing that Percy was the only other Poseidon demigod, but quickly shaking it off, moving the to second to last dresser to put his clothes in.  
While he was unpacking, he noticed Jacob eyeing the trinkets on percy's shelf. He picked up the bull's horn, as if considering if he should steal it.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Althea walked to Percy and smiled. “So, how is to finally have a brother?”

Percy returned her smile, and it was wide and over joyed. “It's amazing! I won't be alone in my cabin, or at my table anymore!!”

She gave a quiet and laugh and nodded. “I bet that'll be fun. I hope Nico comes and eats tonight. He usually doesn't....anyway, I thought about something.”

Percy frowned and cocked his head. Usually when she came to him with any idea, it wasn't a very pleasant thought. “What is it?”

She put her hands in her pockets. “Something that's never been done before. Since it's just me, I wonder if Chiron will let me eat you you two, that way none of us really have to eat alone.”

Percy looked surprised, then narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Maybe, I don't see why not...but what did you really want to talk about?”

Althea sighed and looked down at the ground. “I never finished my story...I only told the first half.”

Percy realized what was going on, and grew serious. “Althea, you broke down in tears. It took us fifteen minutes to calm you down again.”

A wave of guilt passed over her. “I know, but I thought that you should know the rest of it. It might be important...I don't know.”

He saw the reasoning, and although he didn't like it, he didn't have much of a choice. “I guess...Are you sure?”

“Yes. Absolutely...but after dinner. Speaking of which, we'd better head back to our cabins. Wait up for Kirito, okay? Don't leave without him. I've got to wake up Nico.”

Percy assented, actuallly really hungry after training all afternoon. “Sounds like a plan. Where are we going to meet you?”

She turned, ready to leave, and answered him. “Just come to cabin 13.” 

“I'll tell Kirito.”

She sighed. “Thank you, Percy.” Running off, she made her way to cabin 13, wanting to wake up Nico so she could ask Chiron about the arrangement before the rush for dinner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While Althea ran to her own cabin, Percy went to his, walking through the door as Jacob quickly replaced the bull's horn.  
“Hey, Percy” Kirito smiled and waved at him.

Percy smiled cheesily, looking giddy. “Hey, Jacob. Kirito, welcome to cabin 3, home of the Poseidon brothers!”

Percy plopped down on his bed, twiddling his thumbs.  
“Bro, I would love to give you the tour, but dinner starts soon, and Althea wants us to meet her at her cabin.”  
Kirito nodded, finishing his unpacking, and quickly changing his shirt before heading outside with Percy and Jacob. Jacob began walking towards the dining hall, calling back to them.  
“I guess I'll go ahead. See you guys after dinner.”

With a friendly wave, he ran off, leaving the two brother, who were walking side by side.  
“So, why did Althea want us to meet her at her cabin?”

Percy shrugged. “Well, she was going to ask Chiron if she could sit with us. Maybe Nico will come too. Probably thought we should ask him together.”

Kirito could tell Percy had something on his mind, and was slightly suspicious. “That's cool. Is something wrong?”

Percy seemed to almost jump, and he shook his head. “What? Oh, no, it's nothing.”

The rest of the trip to cabin 13 was made in silence, and as they arrived they could hear Althea talking to Nico. When Percy knocked on the door, they heard further mumbling, only a few words kaming it through, and Kirito grew uneasy, looking at Percy.

“She's kidding, right? He won't really kill me?” 

Percy merely shrugged, and gave him a look that told him that it was possible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Althea sighed. They'd been at this for five minutes now, and other than groaning at her, she'd gotten no recognition that he was even awake.  
“Nico, you need to get up.” He groaned again, pulling the blanket higher up his body.

“I don' wanna” She looked up at the ceiling and rolled her eyes.

“Come on, sleepyhead. We're having company.”

“Why....who?...”

“Percy and Kirito. Now get up.”

Realizing that she was relentless, he sat up and pulled on his Aviator's jacket, sitting on the edge of his bed, when there was a knock on the door.  
“That's got to be them. We don't get any other visitors. Be, nice, and try not to kill them. I know you're tired, soldatino, but hold out for me, okay?”

His glare faded and he nodded to Althea. “Fine...”

Smiling, she went and opened the door.  
“Welcome to the cabin of death. I hope you enjoy your stay. You came a bit early though. I was about to go ask Chiron if we could sit together. I suppose we could go talk to him as a group.”

Althea turned to look at Nico, who was still sulking on his bed over being woken up. She held up a finger asking the boys to wait as she walked to Nico and ruffled his hair. “Come on, soldatino, we're going to go talk to Chiron, and get some dinner.”

He frowned, not bothering to fix back his hair as he crossed his arms. “ 'M not hungry.”

Althea really didn't want to fight over this, especially not in front of Percy and Kirito, so she made it short. “You haven't eaten in three days. You are eating. I'm not going to ask again, Nico. Come on.” 

She nodded to the sons of Poseidon, and they gave her an awkward look as she walked out of the door, all three boys quickly followed close behind. They walked to the Big House, mostly quietly, other than the occasional complaint from Nico, which was answered by raised eyebrow and glare from Althea. When they got there and knocked on the door, Chiron swiftly answered in his wheelchair.

“Good afternoon, Althea. Is something the matter.”

“Not at all, sir. We've actually got a request.”

He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. “Oh? And what is your request?”

“It's a bit unheard of, but the children at the Poseidon and Hades table get lonely during mealtimes, and we were wondering if we could sit as one, sir, the two cabins together.”

He looked down in though. “I've never gotten a request like that before. I suppose you could. If I see any trouble from it though, you'll stay apart. Is that understood.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.” Althea smiled, nodding her head.


	8. Chapter 8

They all entered the dining hall together, although most of the camp was already there. Kirito glanced to the Hermes table, and noticed Jacob looking at him. He waved and continued to follow the rest. As they all made their offerings, Kirito silently prayed to Poseidon, thanking him for choosing him. 

As Kirito had gotten claimed, Chiron stood at the front of the hall, and held his goblet high in a toast. “To the gods!”, he exclaimed.

The room resounded with, “To the gods!”, as the camp cheered, raising their own goblet. Sitting back down, Kirito took a sip of his Pepsi-Coke, and Percy was avidly drinking his blue Coke. Nico, who was completely uninterested in being there, faked it while Althea was looking, though she knew he was. She knew he didn't want to be there, and she smiled at him rubbing his back, though he only responded with cold, borderline angry eyes. The silence stretched on until Percy broke it.

“So, guys. We're supposed to be having a game of Capture the Flag tomorrow. The Athena and Hermes cabins are the lead teams.” He looked at Kirito. “Before you go there, I promised Annabeth I'd be on her team, so that means you join me.”

Kirito smiled. “Sounds cool.”

He turned back to Althea and Nico. “I don't' know what team you guys are on. Althea, mind enlightening us?”

Althea sighed. “I don't know, Percy. Seems unfair having all four of us on one team.”

Percy made a face. “I guess. Are you joining the other team?”

Althea shuddered in horror. “And join Clarrise? Not on your life. Maybe you do need us. What do you think, Nico?”

He shrugged indifferently. “If you want to....”

“I'll let you use your summoning.” His dark eyes lit up, and he gave a rare mischievious smirk. 

“I'm in.”

Kirito was excited for the game the next day, ready to meet the other campers. And better yet, so far as he knew, he had three of his best friends on his team. It was a shame he'd have to go against Jacob, though.   
As they left the dining hall, Kirito noticed some campers walking towards a small bonfire, and he could hear reed pipes being played and smell marshmallows being roasted. He felt his cellphone in his pocket and thought of his mother. He pulled it out, but Percy shook his head.  
“No good, bro. Phones won't work right here.”

Kirito sighed, placing the phone back in his pocket.

Althea, really not wanting to be at the campfire, and remembering her own plan, spoke up as they walked nearer to the campfire.  
“Hey, while everyone else is here, we could hang out at my cabin until they call lights out.”

The brothers instantly said yes, and Nico nodded in silent agreement. She smiled, and led them all to cabin 13, just as it was beginning to get dark outside. Torches blazed to life outside of the Hades cabin, illuminating the area with a hellish green fire, making the cabin appear even more ghoulish than usual.

Althea held the door open, and Nico stepped inside, followed by the two brothers. 

Nico kicked off his shoes, and hung up his jacket. “If anyone needs me, which I doubt will happen, I'll be taking a nap. Please try to be quiet if that's possible.”  
He laid down and Althea was glad that Nico was finally getting some rest, all of them waiting to speak until he was asleep.

Her smile faded into a solemn expression as she spoke. “So, Percy. You know why I asked you two here.”

Percy nodded, and sounded sad and downcast. “Yeah...”

Kirito had a slight idea of what they were going to be talking about, and he was sure it wasn't Capture the Flag battle strategies.

“Kirito, I only answered half of your question last time.” She took a deep breath and suddenly all of his doubt disappeared. They were going to talk about her death again. Quite honestly, it was a weird topic, talking to someone about their death, but after the last two days on camp, little was weird anymore. His heart sank, and it felt like two tons were suddenly sitting on his chest.

“Althea, are you sure you want to talk about his? We're not going to force you to...”

“I'm fine, Percy.” Her smile was sweet, but her eyes tore at your soul. Had her eyes always looked this cold and sad?

“As for my returning, I met Nico in the Fields of Asphodel. He was the only alive person there, and as a son of Hades, he could understand out moans. Most of the dead would gather around any alive person in Asphodel and ask them for help. I didn't. I was under the mindset that I deserved this, the eternal wandering, so I never approached him. He came up to me, and asked why I never asked for relief. I told him I deserved what I got, and told him my story upon request. After discovering that I was a child of Hades as well, Nico asked for my release, but Father said that there was a condition. Nico would have to let someone go. 

Bianca, he full-blooded sister, died on a mission. She had never chosen Rebirth or Elysium. She wasn't going to. She and Nico apparently talked often. He would summon her for 15 minutes with Happy Meals, and then she would have to go back, but that's the only reason she never chose. She knew that she wanted Rebirth, but that would mean leaving Nico forever. In order to get me, Nico had to let go of her.”  
Althea laughed bitterly. It wasn't a pleasant memory to say the least, but it wasn't as terrible as the last time. 

Percy looked over at Nico, and frowned. “Oh wow...so he did let go of her. I'm still sorry for that. I promised him that I take care of her and keep her safe...”

Althea shook her head. “It's not your fault, Percy. She died saving the entire team. Anyway, that's how he got me back.” She sat there and thought. “I guess that's why he listens to me. He never listened to anybody except Bianca...well, and you, Percy, to an extent. He gave her permission to choose as she wanted, and then Father sent him back to the surface, and I appeared in the condition that I died in, save all the fatal wounds, which were reduced to nothing more than paper cuts.”

Kirito sat there, stunned by what he had just heard. He couldn't believe it. The sacrifices they had all made, for Althea, for Bianca...it was too much. Kirito chocked back a sob, having to keep himself composed or risk seeing Althea cry again. He couldn't stand that.

“Wow...he really cares about you...to make a sacrifice like that.”

Althea looks over at a sleeping Nico, smiling as she wiped away tears. “Yeah...yeah, he does.”

Kirito followed her gaze, looking upon Nico with a newfound respect. He glanced over at the jacket, and noticed a piece of paper sticking out of one of the pockets in Nico's jacket. He pulled it out and unfolded it.  
It was a picture of a girl, around Nico's age. She was pale, and had dark hair that matched his. “Is this her?”

He showed Althea the photograph, and she nodded. “Yes, that's her.”

Kirito felt angry, helpless. He wanted, needed, to do something. He couldn't let his friends go on like this...Percy blaming himself for Bianca's death, Nico missing his sister every day, and Althea wishing Nico hadn't made his sacrifice and had just left her dead. 

Kirito thought of a plan. It was a crazy plan, but it would have to do. He took his phone out, and took a picture of the picture of the photograph, so he'd know what Bianca looked like at all times. Because he didn't know how, but somehow, he was going to find Bianca, and bring her back. He placed the photo back in the jacket pocket. 

At the same time, a head poked in the door. It was Annabeth.  
“Hey, guys. Lights out in ten minutes.”

Percy got up first. “Okay, thanks Wise Girl.” He looked back at Kirito. “We should go.”

Kirito nodded and stood, and Althea closed the door behind them as they left. She picked up the photograph back out of the jacket, and looked at it for a second before placing it back. She changed into her night clothes, and climbed into the adjacent bed, humming Soldatino.


End file.
